Former Fox News anchor Tucker CarlsonThe singer, who has sparked controversy with inflammatory comments on race, immigration and LGBTQ rights, among other issues, is leaving his show next week for a 16-date cross-country tour that will feature Donald Trump loyalists and the right-wing. provocateurs.
Among the guests scheduled to take the stage with Carlson at various stops are Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and far-right pundit Glenn. Wait.
“We’re going to talk to real people about real issues,” Carlson said in June when he announced the live shows. “You better believe the Enterprise is going to lose its mind.”
Carlson, 55, leaves two months before the presidential election and will visit several key battlegrounds, including Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Carlson did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The tour kicks off Wednesday in Phoenix with English comedian Russell Brand, who recently converted to Christianity after facing multiple rape and sexual assault allegations.
In a video posted to her social media accounts last year, Brand denied the allegations and said their relationship was consensual.
He said he had received “extremely disturbing” communications from a major television company and a newspaper “listing a series of extremely horrific and aggressive attacks”.
“But among these amazing, more baroque attacks, there are some very serious allegations that I completely refute,” Brand said.
British media reported last year UK police questioned Brand over the allegations, but he was not arrested or charged.
In June, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Brand endorsed Trump on Fox News and attended the Republican National Convention in July.
Other states Carlson will visit include Florida, Utah, Oklahoma and Texas. His only stop in California will be Republican-leaning Orange County.
“It’s a brave new world,” said conservative radio host Larry Elder, who ran for governor of California and briefly for president. “He has now been released.”
Elder will join Carlson on stage in Milwaukee, where the Republicans recently held their national convention.
Carlson’s list builds on his recent momentum with Trump and the Make America Great Again camp, while fueling speculation about Carlson’s own political ambitions.
His name is mentioned Within GOP circles for several election cycles, although Carlson has never officially announced his intention to run.
He was among the few working insiders behind the scenes to persuade Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to drop his independent bid for the White House and endorse the former president, NBC News reported.
“It’s really rallying the troops and former Tea Party members, the MAGA people,” said Rhys Peck, associate professor of media culture at the City University of New York.
“They’re giving up an independent, persuasive voter,” Reece said of Carlson’s lineup, describing his guests as “stars of the old conservative media world.”
In July, nearly 15 months after being fired from Fox News, Carlson returned to the beating heart of the GOP when he addressed Republicans at the national convention.
He took an almost reverent tone when talking about Trump, even though he did open up once personal texts to hate him.
In an 11-minute address to delegates, Carlson called Trump a “changed man” after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and praised the former president’s courage and sacrifice.
“It was no longer a man. He was no longer just a candidate of a political party or a former president or a future president. It was the leader of a nation,” Carlson said, describing the incident as “divine intervention.”
He also spoke out against corruption in Washington, calling the Biden administration’s continued military aid to Ukraine “a middle finger to every American” and saying “Trump is the funniest person I’ve ever met.”
Carlson was abruptly fired from Fox News in April 2023 after the network agreed to pay about $800 million To avoid a defamation lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems for its baseless conspiracies surrounding the 2020 election.
Tucker Carlson Tonight has been a cornerstone of the Fox News lineup since 2016 and is one of the most-watched shows on American cable news.
He is known to spread conspiracy theories and disinformation, including lies about the results of the 2020 presidential election, and minimize the severity Riots at the US Capitol on January 6.
After being fired from Fox News, Carlson announced his latest self-titled venture in December. The Tucker Carlson Network is a mix of news, documentaries and other streaming services. His podcast debuted at #2 on Spotify on Friday.
In February, Carlson became the first Western-born media figure to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin since his troops invaded Ukraine in 2023.
“It’s important to remember who Tucker Carlson was. He comes from incredible wealth,” says MSNBC commentator Charlie Sykes. “This is not an average person. His motivations are not the same as someone who just lost his job. He wants to be relevant and take a little revenge.”
Carlson’s father, a journalist-ambassador, married the heir to the Swanson food fortune. Despite his fine upbringing, Carlson’s broad appeal has made him a leading voice in the modern conservative movement.
Since leaving Fox News, Carlson appears to have expanded his reach even further through streaming services that helped propel personalities like Joe Rogan to stardom.
“Here’s someone who really knows how to walk in both worlds,” said University of Southern California journalism professor Christina Bellantoni. “He is a personality who can make money by bringing it to the masses. He can adapt.”